The Scottish Secure Tenancies (Proceedings for Possession) (Form of Notice) Amendment Regulations 2025

Explanatory note

Reproduced verbatim from the instrument as published on legislation.gov.uk (Crown Copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). The note is prepared by the responsible government department and is not part of the instrument itself.

These Regulations amend the Scottish Secure Tenancies (Proceedings for Possession) (Form of Notice) Regulations 2012 (“ the 2012 Regulations ”). The 2012 Regulations prescribe the form of notice to be used by a landlord when notifying its tenant and any qualifying occupier under a Scottish secure tenancy, within the meaning of Part 2 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 (“ the 2001 Act ”), that the landlord may raise proceedings for recovery of possession of the house.

A notice in the prescribed form must be served by a landlord on a tenant and any qualifying occupier, in terms of section 14(2) of the 2001 Act.

These Regulations take account of the amendments made to the 2001 Act by Part 2 of the Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Act 2021 (asp 16 , “the 2021 Act”). Section 22 of the 2021 Act amends sections 14 and 16 and schedule 2 of the 2001 Act. Section 22(4) of the 2021 Act inserts paragraph 15A into schedule 2 of the 2001 Act, creating a new ground on which the landlord under a Scottish secure tenancy may raise court proceedings under section 14 of the 2001 Act. On this new ground, the landlord may raise proceedings either: for recovery of possession of the house (in the case of a sole tenant), or for termination of the tenant’s interest in the tenancy (in the case of a joint tenant). Sub-paragraphs (1) and (2) of the new ground require that a person (“ person T ”) who is the tenant or one of the joint tenants has engaged in behaviour which is abusive of a person (“ person P ”) who is a partner or ex-partner of person T. In addition, the house to which the tenancy relates must be person P’s only or principal home, and person P must wish to continue living in the house. Where person T is the sole tenant, the landlord must also wish to recover possession of the house from person T for the purpose of entering into a tenancy with person P instead.

Regulations 4 and 5 amend the 2012 Regulations to provide that the prescribed form of notice where proceedings are to be raised on the new ground in paragraph 15A of schedule 2 of the 2001 Act is contained in the new schedule 3 of the 2012 Regulations.

The new notice sets out the time limit within which the landlord is permitted to raise proceedings and the ground on which the landlord intends to raise proceedings.